Hoffenheim and Freiburg settle for a draw in Baden battle
Two well-organized defenses deservedly earned clean sheets, as Freiburg drew away against Hoffenheim to end Matchday 7 on Sunday night.
In an enticing watch between two very even sides, neither club looked decisive enough to put the game away in the final third of the pitch. After Freiburg's brilliant offensive performance in Greece midweek, Hoffenheim's back line deserves lots of praise in giving Freiburg their second consecutive draw in league play.
Freiburg pressed early and often to scare Hoffenheim on several occasions in the opening minutes. Die Kraichgauer eventually found a way to get behind Freiburg's defense, but neither Ozan Kabak or Grischa Prömel could convert.
Both sides continued to push forward, as Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Ritsu Doan nearly gave the Breisgau club a quick advantage. Mark Flekken stuck out his leg to save another Prömel effort in this tightly contested battle. Left-back Christian Günter also started getting very involved offensively, but nothing came to be.
The match remained scoreless heading into halftime with Freiburg especially showing their quality with some beautiful one-touch football. Hoffenheim really started well to begin the second period with 20-year-old Georginio Rutter displaying his quality with some world-class footwork.
The defenses continued their strong play, as seen with Kevin Vogt's sliding challenge that potentially saved a goal after another powerful hit from Günter. Michael Gregoritsch had Freiburg's clearest chance of the game, but Oliver Baumann saved his 63rd minute header.
Christian Streich simultaneously substituted three young attackers with about ten minutes to go in hopes of finding a spark to secure all three points. But, both teams ran out of ideas and the match remained scoreless after 24 total shots recorded.
The international break comes at the perfect time for Freiburg, who have 13 games in six weeks before the World Cup begins in November. It's a ludicrous schedule, but they've bought themselves some leeway at 3rd in the table. Hoffenheim climb to 4th with their first draw recorded on the season.